Reunion
by The-crazy-lone-wolf77
Summary: It's been so many years, and now it's time for Nick to face his fears and make amends with his past.
1. Chapter 1

"I can't do this!" I panicked with short raspy breaths. I thought that I could, that I would just get here and all my worries would just go away. I would just keep my cool like I usually do, never letting others see that they get to me. Now, I just couldn't help but be in a full state of dismay. I mean at first I was happy to hear about it, its been so long. I thought I could just go and patch things up, but now I don't even think I'll be able to make it out of the car, let alone make it to the door.

"Nick, calm down. Everything's going to be just fine. What happened was years ago, I'm sure that they will be ecstatic to see you again." Carrots assured me as she placed her paw lovingly on mine. I hated others seeing me like this, in a panicked state. It makes me feel vulnerable. But around her, I knew I could act anyway without her being the least bit judgmental. Even if she was, I knew that I would be able to get her with a comeback pretty easily.

I took a deep breath and sighed, nodding my head because she was probably right. "You're right, I'm just over reacting." I said, mostly just trying to give myself a confidence boost. Is this what it felt like to be insecure and nervous? It feels awful.

I peered out of the passenger side window of the car and looked at the house that was directly across the street from us. A pretty normal looking house; an ordinary red brick home with a decent sized yard with white fencing around its perimeter. Just a house that looked like all the ones around it, for the most part. Except there was one thing that the other houses didn't share with this one, I hadn't lived in any of the other ones. Yet, I have not been here in over a decade. Why? I was afraid of what my parents might think.

"Of course I'm right, when am I not?" She asked with a slick smile.

"Oh, I can think of a few occasions" I said folding my arms with a raised brow. She looked down with a small blush.

"You said we'd never talk about that again" She hissed, still feeling the guilt of it all. Of course I was talking about the missing mammals case, and how she basically outed all predators as ticking savage time bombs. Though, when she found out how wrong she was, she apologized to me about a million times, and also made a public announcement about it, telling everyone how wrong she had been and had apologized sincerely to everyone. After that, she made me promise never to talk about it again, but I just couldn't help myself.

"Your the one being Miss. Brags a lot, I'm just countering your statement and defending myself" I told her with a sly smile of my own. She just groaned and gave my arm a medium punch. I laughed it off as she still kept her face buried in her paws. She really didn't like when people brought that up, and I really shouldn't have even mentioned it. I do love to mess with others, but I can take it a little far at times. 'Stupid fox' I thought to myself.

"Hey, Judy, I'm sorry I said that. I know it was stupid of me" I apologized.

"Yah, you are a pretty stupid fox" She murmured half jokingly.

"Hey, don't forget I still have that recording of you" I reminded her. She rolled her eyes and gave my arm another light punch.

"You make me so angry sometimes, you know that?" She told me with a slight growl, but I know she was just playing.

"Oh, you know you love me" I laughed, then rubbing her head and giving her a small kiss on the cheek.

"Yah, otherwise I would have left your ass a long time ago" She giggled.

I chuckled as well. It really did amaze me how this bunny could put up with someone like me. I mean, I knew why I was with her; she saved me from myself, bringing out the better side of me. She got me out of the stealing business and into law enforcement where I can actually help make a difference. She also opened up my eyes to let me see that what you are doesn't bound you from doing anything you want. And most importantly, she believed in me, a fox, when the rest of the world saw my kind as sneaky, untrustworthy, evil, etc., She saw past that, and that's when I knew I couldn't love anyone else but her. As for why she liked me, it was still a mystery to myself, for the most part at least. She had told me some reasons, but I could tell that wasn't all.

We had gotten together and started dating around a year ago, starting out in secret, but we soon let others know. Much to Clawhauser pleasure, as he said he always thought we looked like a cute couple. Most didn't care for our interspecies relationship, but there were a few that did. And for some reason they always liked to express their opinions to us. That's a reason why I'm so nervous about this.

There are two main factors as to why this trip to my parents is causing me so much stress and anxiety. The first being why I haven't been here in over a decade. My life as a con-artist started pretty early in my life. Being a fox, I was just naturally good at it. Plus, seeing as others already saw me as a menace, I lived up to their expectations and prejudice thoughts.

At first I started off doing small things in school, conning other classmates into basically giving me whatever I wanted. I'm not going to share how I did it, mostly because I'm not very proud of what I did. After the years went by I kept working my way up, doing bigger and riskier things. I was doing great, making a steady income off of scamming animals out of there money. In my mind I knew that I could do this all I wanted and no one would ever be the wiser. Oh, how wrong I had been. Because as the scams got bigger and riskier, so did the danger.

I was around seventeen when it happened, still in high school, though, still the same cunning fox I had always been and always will be. It was around that time that I had moved up a little higher with my scams, getting to know some animals that were a little on the sketchy side of things. Of course, I guess you could consider me the same kind of animal at that point. Anyway, I was just selling some things, don't quite remember what, off to animals like I did. Of course, though, I was definitely selling them triple of what they were actually worth, making them seem like some expensive brand. I had made it through the whole day, and at the end of it I figured I had got off free again like I usually did, makeing a large sum of cash. Unfortunately, I wasn't exactly right about that.

Apparently that day, I had sold something to some crime boss. Well, he was quick to figure out that what I sold to him was a fake, and he wasn't to pleased about it. So he sent a couple of his goons after me. That night they cornered me in an alley and beat the living hell out of me. After they beat me to a bloody pulp, they took all the money I had made that day and left me for dead. The next thing I remembered after that was waking up in a hospital bed with my mom crying next to me. It was kind of a blur after that, but I remember finally telling my mom and dad what I had been doing for the past five years. To say there were not happy... well that would have been a bit of an understatement. They made me promise not to do it anymore, and I did. Obviously I didn't live up to it. Much to my parents disappointment and anger.

I don't know how they found our I was doing it again, but when I came home one night I was met by a wave of yelling and screaming and crying from both my mom and dad. I yelled back, we fought for nearly half an hour until finally my dad just had enough. He told me to get out, to leave and not come back until I cleaned up my act. And I did. But now here I am, a little over ten years later ready to face them again.

Was I mad at them for kicking me out? I was down right furious, how could they just send me away like I didn't matter at all to them. I held such a hatred of them for many years until I just forgot about everything. But now, as I looked back on it, I couldn't blame them.

"Come on, we don't have all day" Judy said, knocking me from my thoughts. I nodded my head and climbed out of the passenger side door. Judy came by my side and smiled up at me. It was late in the evening, around five o'clock. I had all day to prepare myself for this, and still I'm terrified.

"Calm down a little, your literally shaking" She giggled, enjoying how vulnerable I was being right now. Who could blame me, though. It was a rarity to see me in this kind of state of panic. I was usually a very calm and collected fox.

"Its just been so long" I sighed. I looked over at the house and it just sent a shiver down my spine. I swear I could still hear the screaming of that night. I had said so many things that I now regret.

I suddenly felt a tug on my tie as Just brought me down to her until we were at the same eye level.

"Everything's going to be just fine" She whispered lovingly to me, followed by a small peck on the lips. I couldn't help but smile at my little confidence booster. "And if anything goes wrong, just remember I'll be right there with you" she reassured me. Of course that was the other reason why I was so nervous about this.

It was around a month ago that I had finally asked Judy to marry me. Obviously she said yes, and was so excited about it. She couldn't keep her happiness contained and it wasn't long before almost all of our friends knew. Luckily, they aren't the ones who care about interspecies relationships. It was after we had called and told Judy's parents about us that my family was brought up. It wasn't the first time, but I usually just waved her off whenever she tried to bring them up. But there was no escaping it that time. That's the first time I had told anyone about what happened between my family and me. And Judy, being herself, immediately wanted to bring us together again. She wanted them to be at our wedding. It was then I had to break the news to her.

My family wasn't very accepting of interspecies relationships, and they were very open with their opinions. It was often a topic spoken about at my house. I actually had the same mind set, until I met Judy that is. But I couldn't say that my parents had changed their mind on what they thought of animals like Judy and myself. They didn't have a problem with other animals in particular, it was just the ones who decided to marry outside of their own species. It would be very interesting to hear what they had to say. That is, of course, if they're even willing to talk to me.

Even after I told Judy about it, all she had to say was that people change. She gestured to me as an example after she said that, knowing full well of my past opinions on a lot of things until she opened my eyes to the world and all the good that was in it. Nevertheless, she was persistent in getting me back together with my parents. And in all honesty, I'm grateful for her efforts. No one's ever worked harder than her to try and make me happy. Like I said, she is definitely the only one I'll ever love.

As we reached the door of my childhood home, my breathing and heart rate tripled. The last time I felt like this was when I was being held by Mr. Biggs goons about to get iced. This wasn't as deadly, but it was still as terrifying. Luckily, Judy knocked on the door for us. If she would have waited for me, it would have taken me ten minutes just to raise my arm, and another eternity just to knock.

I saw Judy twitch her ears a little, telling me that she had heard someone in there and they were making their way to the door. I had to take a few big breaths before I finally calmed myself down, and right as the door opened.

My heart nearly stopped with fear as my dad appeared behind the door. Obviously, he looked a bit older then when I last saw him, with gray fur covering parts of his face. Him and I didn't look much alike; he was much darker than me and was a lot shorter than I am, being almost the same height as Carrots.

He looked back and forth between the two of us with a look of confusion. I guess it wasn't everyday a fox and a rabbit just showed up on your doorstep.

"Can I help you?" He asked with the same strict voice I had heard all those years ago. It seems as though not much has changed physically about him, hopefully he's a little more forgiving and understanding than when I last saw him.

I froze when he asked, not able to bring myself to speak. There were just so many things running through my head, and so many emotions. Fear, sadness, a little bit of hate. Luckily, I had Judy there with me, or I'd just be standing there like an idiot. Well, I guess I was, but at least I wasn't alone when I was doing it.

"Yah, we're here to talk about your son" She told him. He gave another surprised look, as if he was shocked that anyone had anything to say about me. Not surprising to me at all, he probably hasn't thought about me for years.

"What's Rich done?" He asked worried. Now that came as a surprise to me. My shoulders slumped a little as I realized what that meant. They had another son, they replaced me. I felt as though I wanted to cry. I saw Judy look up at me through the corner of my eye. I guess she was just as surprised as me.

"No, not Rich. He's done nothing wrong" She said slowly. He looked quizzically at us for a second, and slowly a look of realization came over his face. He glanced quickly between the two of us. He had no idea what to say.

"Its about your other son, Nick" Carrots told him.

"W-What about him? Who are you two?" He seethed, like a bad memory he had tried to forget just forced itself back into his mind. In all my life I had never wanted to run away more than I did at that moment. I couldn't take it, it was obvious he didn't want to be reminded of me, let alone see me again. Before I could take of, though, Judy said something that stopped me.

"I'm a friend of Nick, and he wanted to come and make amends with you for what happened" She spoke. He took a deep as he composed himself. Out of anger or sadness, I couldn't tell.

He stared at her for awhile, then he looked to the ground with his eyes closed. Finally, he slowly looked up at me and it was then I knew that he knew it was me.

"Nick?" He asked with a shaky breath. I nodded my head, confirming him of his suspicions.

"Hey dad" I smiled with unease. I prepared myself for what was going to happen now. Was he going to scream at me, cuss me out, yell how much of a disappointment I was to them, tell me how much better his new son is. I didn't know what it was going to be, but I figured it wasn't going to be very pleasant. But what did happen surprised me beyond believe.

He took a step forward towards me, causing me to flinch a little. That didn't bother him though, he walked straight up to me and did the last thing I expected him to do. He brought me into a hug.

"Oh Nick, your mother and I have been so worried about you." Was, was he crying. Never in the seventeen years I lived with him had I ever seen him come close to crying. Did he really miss me that much?

He pulled away from me and I saw the tears in his eyes. He looked up at me with a smile of relief, like he had something heavy finally lifted off of his shoulders. Again, this is not at all what I expected. There wasn't even any screaming.

"Please, come in" He said. Carrots and I looked at each other before walking inside the house. Dad, or Frank, led us to the front room. I looked in at it and saw that it looked almost exactly the same as when I left. Judy and I sat next to each other and dad said he would be right back.

It was quiet for a second, and I knew what Judy was thinking. I already knew when we left that she was going to taunt me so much about this. I glanced down at her and saw she was looking up at me with a smug smile. I rolled my eyes with a slight smirk.

"Shut up" I mumbled, causing her to chuckle.

"I told you, you had nothing to worry about" She whispered. She was such a clever little bunny, another reason why I loved her so much. Which reminds me: they might have missed me, but that doesn't mean that they'll approve of Judy and myself being married. I can hope, but it's hard to see them accept that; especially after how much hate they've talked on them.

"I'm still worried about their opinion on us" I told her. She just shrugged her shoulders and told me that whatever happens, happens. We can try our best to get them to accept us, and if they don't then that's not our problem. Which is a lot easier for her to say, considering that her parents already came to accept her life choices. At first, not so much. But they eventually came around to the idea, especially after they saw how happy she was with me. They had told us that as long as she was happy, they were happy. I was then gracefully accepted into the family. I have a feeling that was a lot easier then this was going to be.

After awhile of waiting, I finally heard two sets of paw-steps making their way towards the front room. I held my breath for a second out of anticipation, because it was really my mom I wanted to see most of all. I knew my dad had somewhat loved me, but it was my mom, Sam, that had really given me the most affection. She was the one that had always been there for me. She had been the one that comforted me after that incident with the scouts. Even after they had kicked me out, I couldn't hate her; at least not completely.

When I saw her, I almost lost it. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and an overjoyed smile. It was then that all my hate for her and dad just seemed to fade away, replaced by a longing to have my parents back.

"Oh, Nick." She cried out as she walked over to me. I stood only to be met by another hug. This one was a little easier to accept since mom was actually around the same height as me, not like dad who was only a little taller than Judy.

"It's so good to see you, both of you" I said, pressing my head into her shoulder. It had been awhile since I had shown this much emotion, even more than when I proposed to Judy. I try so hard to keep on a mask, and in a matter of minutes it has shattered to pieces. Even though after this I'll go back to my usual self, but it feels kind of good to let myself go like this.

"We have so much to catch up on" Mom said, breaking away from the hug. I chuckled and looked back at Carrots who had a knowing smile.

"Oh, you have no idea." Mom raised an eyebrow as she went and sat on a couch with dad, just opposite of Judy and I.

"So enlighten us" Dad urged. I was going to, but I stopped myself as my pessimistic thoughts came to mind. Even if Judy did help me see better in the world, I couldn't help but be a bit of a pessimist.

"Before I do I need to know, did you have this 'Rich' kid as a replacement for me?" I asked, gaining shocked looks from everyone in the room. I just had to know, or it would eat away at me. I don't even care that Judy is looking at me like she's going to skin me alive.

"Nick, honey, that's not at all what happened" Mom tried to assure me. I gestured for her to continue; I wanted to know the whole story behind this. Mom and dad looked between each other exhaled deeply.

"We never expected you to leave for this long" Dad said. I looked quizzically at them, what exactly did they mean?

"I said those things to scare you. I thought you'd be back in the next couple of days." Dad said, tears forming in his eyes again.

"But the days soon turned to weeks, and weeks to months, and months to years. We tried to look for you, but this is a big city and just couldn't seem to find any trace of you. We thought you skipped town, and after awhile we gave up. We never thought we'd see you again" Mom explained. That's when my blood started to boil. What I'm hearing is that I didn't have to be gone for so long, that it was all just a fluke to try and scare me. They made me live on the streets, survive on my own, eat from the trash, all just to teach me a lesson? Yah, the anger returned and I felt like I was about to explode. Fortunately, Judy seemed to take notice.

She lightly placed a paw on my leg and looked up at me with those beautiful, loving, violet eyes. I immediately calmed down, because even if I had gone through a bunch of terrible things in those years, nothing can outweigh the love I have for Judy. And if I hadn't been kicked out of my house all those years ago, I might not have met the woman of my dreams. Was I still mad at them? Yes. Could I forgive them because I have Judy now? Yes.

I nodded my head, "Alright, now that that's out of the way, I guess I should tell you about all those years I was away."

"How did you survive, all on your own?" Mom asked.

I chuckled, "It wasn't easy" I told her. "I lived off the streets for awhile, taking whatever I could get. Its a lot harder trying to be a young con-artist when you have to pay for everything yourself." They didn't seem to be too amused.

"So, your still a con?" Dad questioned with disapproval. Which is understandable.

I shook my head, "Nope" I smiled. "Been away from that stuff for a couple of years now."

"Then what is it that you do then?" Mom asked with worry. She probably thought I was some kind of crime boss, or working for minimum wage at a dead end job. Oh, wouldn't I surprise them.

"I'm an officer at the Zootopia Police Department, First Precinct. And a good one at that, if I do say so myself" I said with pride. Honestly, it was the last job I thought I would have ever had, but here I am.

I got a kick out of my mom and dad's reaction. They just stared wide eyed at me with their muzzles hanging wide open. I guess they couldn't believe their criminal of a son could be a cop. Which is a little strange if you think about it, but how I like to see it is that I'm not a criminal of I've never been caught. Which I never had been, until a certain bunny had to break my streak.

"How?" Was all that could be said; which I guess is a pretty legitimate question considering my background. But all of the credit could go to one place; or should I say, one bunny.

I smiled down at Carrots and gestured to her. She had been the one to pull me out of the life of crime, the one who inspired me to go to the police academy and become a cop, and overall made me into a better animal all around.

"This little bunny helped turn my life around" I told them.

"I'm guessing there's an interesting story behind this?" Dad inquired, to which I nodded. I chuckled to myself, remembering what would have been the third encounter I had with my soon to be mate. The other two times are a bit of a sour subject, but Carrots and I like to laugh about it.

"Let's just say, I conned the con" Carrots giggled. She elaborated on it by explaining how she had blackmailed me to help her with the missing mammals case. Annoyed, was an understatement of how I was feeling at the time; now I couldn't be happier that she set me up with that little carrot pen of hers. She explained the rest of the story to them, up to the point where she saw me off to the Academy. Mom and dad couldn't seem to contain their laughter.

"A fox out-witted by a rabbit, never thought I'd see the day" Dad joked. I chose to ignore the bit of racism that was hinted in his words.

"You'd be surprised how clever she is, sly bunny" I teased.

"Nah, your just a stupid fox" She shot back, causing the whole room to chuckle.

"I'm glad to see that Nicks got a friend like you..." Mom started, but actually didn't know Carrots name.

"Judy" Carrots confirmed for her.

"Yes, Judy. You see, Nick here didn't have many friends growing up" Mom sighed as she looked to the ground. Judy and I looked at one another, knowing that she meant the incident when I was a kid. I tended not to trust much of anyone after that, especially not the likes of a prey.

"Yah, I know. He's told me" Judy answered solemnly. She didn't like bringing it up anymore than I did, because she knew how much discomfort it brought me.

"It is good to see that you turned your life around, son. I couldn't be prouder of you" Dad said with an approving smile. I felt as if I was going to cry; finally, after all these years I've gotten back the approval and love from my parents. I've met plenty of others on the streets, and I know that something like this doesn't happen very often for animals like me. It isn't very often a second chance comes along to change your life around for the better. I'm just glad that mine did, and that I was able to love that second chance enough to marry her.

I clenched up as I remembered one of the reasons I wanted to reconnect with my parents. A deep breath escaped my mouth and I looked down at Judy for some reassurance. She put her paw on my arm to comfort me and nodded with a smile.

"What's the matter, Nick. Is everything all right?" Mom asked. Oh, it was all right; I just don't know if it's going to stay that way. I was about to confess mine and Judy's relationship, when all of a sudden I heard the sound of the front door open. I looked in that direction, confused for a second, until I realized something that completely escaped my mind. I looked at my parents for confirmation, and the nodded yes. So I guess this is where I meet my brother.

"Mom, dad, I'm ho..." He stopped his sentence short as he entered the living room to find two animals he didn't know. He looked between Judy and I for a second, looking a little intrigued to see us. The fox, or Rich, only looked to be around 8 or 9, still looking very childish. He was a petite little thing, not having much meat on his bones and being very skinny. He seemed to of gotten his height from dad because he was still only slightly shorter than Judy.

"Who are these two?" He asked nonchalantly, as if he really didn't care who we were, though it was obvious by his facial expressions that he was interested in finding out who we were.

"Rich, these two are Judy and" She paused for a moment. I guess I was a sour subject when Rich was around. "Nick" She finally said. "They're cops."

"Wait, what?" He almost shouted with excitement. He face me and Carrots with a big smile. "Your Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde?" He asked enthusiastically.

Judy giggled and I gave a light chuckle. Surprising or not, Judy and I tended to get a lot of attention. Both from being the first bunny and fox cop, and also from saving the city from that psycho sheep, Bellwether. So it wasn't all that surprising to Carrots or myself when he recognized.

"Sure are" I told him with a wink. He looked like he was about to squeal from over excitement.

"Wait, you know them?" Mom asked questionably. Not surprising that these two wouldn't know about us, they weren't really the type of animals to keep of with that sort if things. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even know about the Nighthowler incident.

"Yah, they're some of the most famous animals in the city. They saved it; didn't you know that? This sheep tried to make all predators savage and they stopped it" He pointed out matter of factly.

"Wait, that was you two?" Dad asked, and I replied with a slight nod. I don't think I ever saw them prouder of me than in that moment.

"Wait, Wilde?" Mom asked. I shrugged. I guess I should be honest in saying that Wilde isn't my real last name. When your job is in the line of work that I do, you tend to make up fake names in order to protect your family and friends. I knew that I already has cost my parents enough trouble, I didn't want animals like Mr. Biggs goons at the front door of my parents house. So I chose the name Wilde. A lot better that Toddsly anyway. But for them I just shrugged and waved it off as nothing.

"Hold on, why are you even here?" Rich asked, now becoming more confused than anything. I looked at our parents, wondering what they wanted me to say. Dad put a paw up as to say that they'd take care of it.

"Son, do you remember us telling you that you have a brother?" He asked, in which Rich nodded.

"Yah, the one who was a criminal so you kicked him out" Rich said. I couldn't help but lightly chuckle at his response.

"Ah, yah. Well, that's why these two are here" Mom gestured over to us.

"Why, is he dead or something" I smiled, this kid reminded me a lot of myself when I was his age. Outspoken, straight forward with things, a bit of a smart-ass. Mom and dad gave him a weird look.

"No, there here because Nick, he came back. Nick is your brother" Dad told him. Rich's shoulders slowly slacked down and his face became expressionless as he gazed at me. He looked intently at me for a few moments, seemingly trying to make sense of what he had just been told. I wonder how he would react? Would he be furious for me never being there, or would he be ecstatic in finally meeting his brother. Buy what he did confirmed to me that we are definitely brothers.

He gave me one last look over, then just shrugged his shoulders. "Cool" He said, then just walked out of the room. Something I definitely would have done if I had been in the same situation. Of course, he may seem like he thought nothing of it, but it was clear to see that it was all just a little act. I knew this, one because I am just the same way; and two, because I saw his face sink as he walked away.

"He took the better than expected. We always feared how he would react if you ever came back" Mom said to us. She spoke a little to soon, cause soon after she said that a loud thump and crash could be heard from upstairs. Sounded like someone broke a lamp or something. "We'll deal with him later" Mom sighed. "Now, weren't you going to tell us something before Rich came in?"

Oh, right. I had forgotten all about telling my parents about Judy and I. I guess I can't really hold this away from them forever, well I could but Judy wouldn't really be to fond of me not telling my parents. And when Judy's not happy about something, no one's happy about anything.

"I guess I should just come out and say it, no point in beating around the bush. The other reason I found you was in hopes you'd go to my wedding. I'm getting married" I claimed with pride. Honestly, I never thought that I would ever be a married fox. Before Judy, I saw myself always being the lovable bachelor. Now I couldn't imagine not being with my little batch of Carrots.

Mom squealed in delight and ran over to me to give me another hug. I saw dad with the biggest grin I've ever seen him have. "Oh, my boys become a man, hasn't he? I just wish I could have been more apart of your life" She exclaimed.

"So, who's the lucky fox?" Dad asked after mom calmed down. Well, here it goes. This can either go really bad, or really good. I honestly can't see there being an in between in this situation. I looked down at Judy for a second, that feeling of nervousness and anxiety washing over me again. She just gave me a small reassuring smile and mouthed out to me that everything was going to be fine.

"Well, you see... she's not actually a fox" I stuttered out. The color immediately drained from both of their faces.

"What do you mean?" Dad asked through clenched teeth. Yep, there's my dad the racist. It was obvious they already knew what I was implying. They just didn't want me to say it out loud. To bad for them, I needed to do this and get it off of my chest before it drives me completely insane.

"I mean that I'm not marrying a fox, or any other canine for that matter" I started and watched as the anger built up in them. "In fact I'm marrying the exact opposite. I'm marrying Judy" I told them as I gestured to the rabbit who sat next to me.

Clenched fists, gritted teeth, and a deadly glare was all that I was receiving from my parents. I could see the anger basically tale over them, and at any moment I knew that they were going to burst out and rant about how wrong this is.

"Now you listen here, boy" Dad said sternly with a finger pointed at me. "I don't want to be hearing any of that bull-shit. I won't allow my son to engage in such an atrocious thing." He was livid with anger, as was mom. Just how I expected it to be.

"Now I've come to terms with prey and other animals, and I accept them as equals. But for animals of different species, especially that of a predator and prey, is just disgusting, an abomination" He spat. I sat there listening to him rant on, with the occasional comment from mom. All the while I could feel Judy scoot closer to me, afraid that my dad might lash out at her. As I sat back, holding my calm demeanor, I was just building up the rage. Until finally, I just couldn't take it.

I stood up while glaring both of them down, breaking my dad away from what be was saying. "Now it's your turn to listen to me" I growled. "You already pushed me to the streets, making me live alone for almost half my life to fend for myself. I was beaten down, mugged, stabbed, got sick, nearly killed myself all while you two sat here 'crying' that your little boy had gone and ran off from them. You were the only family I had, and you tossed me out to teach me a 'lesson'. Friends weren't a luxury I got to have. Until this rabbit showed up in my life" I took a second to breath as I looked at their shocked expressions, then I continued.

"She's the one that brought hope back into my life. She was the only one who was ever truly kind to me even after I was a jerk to her. She believed in me even though she knew I was a criminal, and a con. When I was beaten at seventeen all you did was yell at me for the damn medical bills. She loves me, and I'm lucky to have someone like her in my life. I came here to see if I could bring us back together, and try to make you proud of me. Now all I get is ridiculed and yelled at for finding the love of my life. I honestly don't care what you think anymore, because I know one thing for sure and that's that Judy has loved me more than either of you ever had" I was breathing hard after my yelling, finally trying to compose myself. But I just couldn't while being in the same room as them.

"I hope you have a good life" I said as I walked out past them. I heard Judy get up and chase out after me. I walked straight out the door and outside into the darkness of night. Damn, we were in there for a good 4 hours.

I stormed over and jumped into the passenger side of the car and slammed the door shut. A couple moments later, Judy slowly climbed into the drivers seat and lightly shut her door. I was still fuming and I knew she was waiting until I calmed down a little. Seeing how worried she was, I let out a deep breath and calmed myself down.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that" I mumbled out. Silence. I was looking down at the floor, not looking or noticing anything around me. It wasn't until I felt a paw on my arm that I glanced over at Carrots. She had tears in her eyes. She had always been the emotional type.

"Nick, I'm sorry it didn't work out with them" She said. I shrugged it off, I could care less about them right now. If they couldn't accept Judy and I, then I have no place for them in my life.

"And what you said, about us, was the greatest thing anyone's ever said about me. And you don't have to worry about me abandoning you, because I never will" She told me as she lightly stroked my arm. She made me smile, she always knew how to do that.

"I love you, Judy. And I'm happy to marry you with or without my parents permission" I said as I leaned over and gave her a small peck on the cheek.

"And I love you" Judy replied. She then turned the car on and we set off for home. My mind lingered on the argument with my parents. How could they be so closed minded? How was there anything wrong with interspecies relationships, how was it an abomination? It just made no sense to me how they could think that way. I guess there are just those kinds of animals out in the world. Too stubborn to see that the views of the world are changing and that there isn't anything wrong with what me and Judy have. Because Love is Love, no matter what anyone might say.

 **Part 1 of 2 completed, and holy hell did this take me a long time. Its actually the longest thing I've ever wrote. Its been so long since I've been thus passionate about writing stories, and it feels so good.**

 **I really hope you enjoyed reading this, and if you didn't I'd like to know why so I could improve. I'm always looking for ways to improve, so feedback is welcome with open arms.**

 **Again, thanks for taking the time to read.**

 **Keep on Keeping on!**

 **Peace Out**


	2. Chapter 2

Busy, busy, busy is all I have been for the past couple of weeks. Between working my full time job at the Precinct, and trying to plan for a wedding; I just didn't have any time to myself anymore. Not that I really minded it, since during all of it I was spending my time with Carrots. Weather it be at work or home, I was always accompanied by my favorite rabbit in the world. And I do really love her, more than anything in this world; but she can get really annoying and really boring, very fast.

We were sat in our apartment at this time, going over a few things that were going to be done at the wedding. I was sat with my elbow on the table while my head rested lazily on my paw. I was half listening to what Judy was saying, and half just staring off into nothing. I think she was talking about table cloths or something like that, it honestly didn't interest me in the slightest. My mind was actually lingering on a case that Carrots and I had taken on not to long ago. A case that at first I really didn't think would have an effect in me at all. But as the days passed, it's all I found myself thinking about, and it was starting to drive me insane.

 _About five, or so, days ago the department got a call in about a missing animal; more specifically a run away. Bogo had given the case over to Carrots and myself and told us to find him and get him back to his parents. Honestly, I was completely fine with it, but Judy, for whatever reason, thought I would have like some sort of mental breakdown over it because I was a run away too. Let me be clear about a couple of things: firstly, I was kicked out, I didn't run away, and secondly, I could care less. There are plenty of run aways out in the world, I'm nothing special. Or at least I thought I could care less about this._

 _Anyway, we looked at the details and saw that it was a runaway wolf, age 17, dark gray fur, blah blah blah, useless details. It was going to be easy finding a young teenage wolf in the streets of Zootopia. When you lived on the streets as long as I did you come to find who belongs there, who thinks they belong there, and who has no business being there at all. A young wolf would definitely not fit in very well._

 _Judy and I drove the city for awhile, seeing if any signs of the wolf came up. I know I said he would be easy to spot, but I forgot to mention that Zootopia is a very large city. It could take us days to do this; that i, of course, if I didn't have my connections. After hours of no luck, I finally had enough._

 _"Take a left up here" I instructed Judy. She gave me a quizzically look, but I assured her I knew what I was doing. With a small shrug, Carrots did what I told her and turned left, going straight to downtown. I gave her a few more directions and she drove without any questions, though she did look curious as to where I was taking her._

 _Soon, Judy pulled the cruiser into a small alley that had a red van parked in it. Upon seeing the van, Judy finally realized exactly what I was doing. If anyone has seen this wolf, it would be Finnick. The small fox had a large knowledge of the city and of everyone in it, even more than myself. Of course, he'd been doing the whole con thing a long time before I showed up._

 _It wasn't really an odd thing for me to use some of my sources from around the city to help with investigations and other cases. I've used Finnick in a couple of other situations, and I've also been able to get Mr. Biggs to help me out on more than a few occasions. Those two, along with some other contacts I got to know over the years, really seemed to help in tough cases where it seems there was nothing to go on._

 _Judy and I went over to the van and knocked on the back door. I heard a bit of rustling as the van wobbled back and forth as Finnick made his way to the door. Not surprisingly, he came out with a bat and aggressively asking what we wanted. But upon seeing that it was Judy and me, his mood lightened up._

 _"Well, well, well, look who it is" He laughed out. "Finally had enough of the life of a cop?" He asked._ _I rolled my eyes, knowing he was just joking since he asked me this every time I came to ask for his help with something._

 _"If I didn't know better, I'd think you miss me or something" I chuckled. "What, you miss being Nicks little boy" I laughed out._

 _His face then turned to that of annoyance as he growled. "Shut up and tell me what you want" He demanded with hostility. He always did have a bit of a temper; Which made it all the more fun to mess with him._

 _"We just need to know if you've seen this wolf" Judy said, showing the picture to him. Finnick studied the picture for a second, seeing if he had, in fact, ever seen this wolf before. He looked behind us, then looked back at the picture. Then he shook his head._

 _"Nope, never seen him" He told us, making the two of us sigh. This just made it so we had to do it the hard way, going around the city and hoping we catch a glimpse. Hopefully he didn't just skip town, cause then it would just be a complete waste of time for us._

 _"But maybe you should ask him" Finnick pointed at someone behind us. Walking right behind us on the other side of the street was a dark gray wolf wearing a white hoodie, and black pants. Judy held up the picture as the wolf walked and nodded to herself._

 _"Yep, that's him" She said as she started walking after him. I followed close behind and called back to Finnick, thanking him. I quickly caught up to Carrots and we walked a little behind the wolf for awhile, talking about how we should approach this. There isn't really much we can do in this situation. The best thing to do would be to call him over to us and hope he doesn't run when he sees that we're cops. Judy would be able to catch up to him easily, that's a given, but I just hate when Judy goes after someone because I'm definitely not as fast as her and I hate it. But what else can I do, let them run? I just had to trust that Judy would be okay. Besides, what's the worst the wolf could do to her, she's taken on animals three times the size of the wolf. So we decided just to hope for the best._

 _"Collin" Judy called out to him. He stiffened up for a second before turning around. Once he saw who we are the color from his face vanished and his ears dropped._

 _"Don't do it" I told him, seeing that he was about to take off. Luckily, he seemed to be a bit smarter than that and let us come over to him._

 _"What do you want?" He asked coldly. It was obvious he wasn't in the talking mood._

 _"I'm pretty sure you already know the answer to that. Come on, we're going to take you home" Judy told him. But he didn't move. He just looked angrily at the ground._

 _"And what if I refuse to go?" He questioned. This kid wasn't going to make it easy for us, was he._

 _"Then you'll give us no choice but to forcefully take you in" I explained. He thought about it for a second, I could tell he was thinking if he should run or not and I noticed Carrots was ready for him if he did. Fortunately, he sighed in defeat and his body loosened up._

 _"Fine" He replied sadly. As we walked back to the cruiser, I wondered why he didn't want to go home this badly. Could the parents be abusive? Probably not, because he definitely would have ran if his mom or dad beat him. Maybe I could get him to tell me some things. It wasn't likely that he'd talk to me or Judy the whole way to his house, but it's worth a shot._

 _We made sure he got into the back and then we got in ourselves. Judy pulled out of the alley and started driving to the address we were given. All I knew is that it was somewhere around tundra town. It would take us awhile to get there since we were on the opposite side of the city from it. We drove for awhile in silence. I glanced back a few times only seeing a defeated looking wolf looking at the floor._

 _"So, mind telling us why you ran away?" I finally asked. He just gave out an aggressive grunt and turned to where he was looking out the window. Carrots and I looked at each other with pitty._

 _"Come on, it might make you feel better if you tell someone" He didn't even answer that time, just continued to ignore us. I wanted to drop it, but I felt like I should get him to talk to me. I don't know why, but it felt like I needed to do this. So what better way to get someone to talk them to establish some common ground._

 _"You know, I ran away around the same age you did" I told him while glancing over my shoulder. His ears perked up a little, and he glanced over at me._

 _"Really?" He asked. I shrugged._

 _"Well, more like I was thrown out on the streets" I replied with a light chuckle._

 _"Why"_

 _"I did some stupid things and my parents threw me out. Trust me, it's not something you want to do. I spent over ten years on the streets and it's not a life worth living"_

 _I saw him think to himself for a second. "I couldn't stay there anymore" He told us. Finally, got him talking. Now I wonder where we'll get with this._

 _"How come? Do your parents... beat you?" Judy asked seriously. She always had a soft spot for animals that have gone through child abuse, she just despised anyone who would ever hit a child. I wasn't to fond of animals like that either. And if we found out that he was being beaten, then the parents would get a rude awakening._

 _But Collin just looked at us wide eyed and confused. "What? No! My parents would never do that to me. They would never lay a paw on me" He told us, a bit mortified that we even asked that. Judy and I nodded, noting that it wasn't child abuse._

 _"Then what is it?" I asked._

 _He sighed and looked down again. "You wouldn't understand, and you'll probably just laugh at me anyways" He said, again turning shyly away from us._

 _"Look, Collin, it's our job to make sure animals feel safe; weather it be at home or on the streets, it doesn't matter. Trust me when I say we won't laugh, or make fun of you" Judy promised him. Judy was always better with kids then I was, knowing just what to say to make them feel safe and in a good place._

 _"They don't approve of who I'm dating" He finally said after awhile. I know I said I wouldn't laugh, and I didn't, but I sure wanted to. Come on, making such a big deal and running away because of someone he thinks he's in love with. Give me a break._

 _"What's wrong with her" Judy asked softly, knowing how to be delicate with these kinds of things._

 _"Well, she's not exactly a wolf" He started, "she's a sheep."_

 _I closed my eyes and held my breath when I heard that. It took me back to a few weeks ago when I finally got back with my parents. What they said about myself and Judy being together, and how much it infuriated me. I now felt like I connected with this wolf on a personal level. I could see Judy looking over worriedly at me. I waved her off, gesturing to her that I was fine._

 _"Racist parents, huh?" I asked him, which he just nodded._

 _"I don't know why I thought I could get them to change, hope that they would accept her as the one I loved even if she is a sheep. But no; they kicked her out and forbid me to ever see her again. I got pissed and decided to run off. I went over to her house and we talked for awhile. She... she broke up with me because she didn't want to be the reason that my family got torn apart. I didn't know what to do after that. So I just started wandering around and that's when you found me" I could see a few tears come from his eyes. Poor kid, torn away from his love because of his parents, that couldn't be easy._

 _"Believe it or not, I'm in a very similar situation" I told him, looking back at him with a smile, sympathizing smile._

 _"Really?"_

 _I nodded my head as I looked towards Judy, who looked a little dismal. She had really wanted for everything to work out between me and my family. But it was obvious they didn't want anything to do with me, all because I loved a rabbit. It seemed kind of stupid. Something as small as that tore away all the repairs we were making in our relationship. We had patched up so many things. They were proud of me, they loved me. Then all of that was thrown out the window just because of who I was marrying. They didn't even give a second to think about it. They went straight to trying to force the two of us apart; calling our relationship an abomination, gross, wrong, and anything else he could think of. It was sad, in all honesty, that such racism could tare a family apart._

 _I took ahold of one of Judy's paws a held it in the air. "My parents aren't to fond of us either" I told him. He looked the two of us in awe, surprised himself that we were together._

 _"So, Zootopias hero's are getting married. I never would have thought" I heard him chuckle. I rolled my eyes, I wasn't to fond of the popularity Carrots and I had gained from solving the missing mammals, and the Nighthowler cases. It always made others look at me different when I told them. It wasn't a bad different, but I just didn't like them looking at me like I was someone else. It was annoying._

 _"Yep! Trust me, I'm surprised she agreed" I told him, gaining a laugh from both of them. But then he turned serious._

 _"Your parents, how'd they react when you told them?"_

 _I took a deep breath, not really liking to reminisce on that night; but for the sake of this wolf I guess I could tell him._

 _"It wasn't pretty" I said, "Let's just say that we aren't on speaking terms right now." That made him look a little worried. It was obvious that he didn't like when his parents were mad at him, and the only reason he stayed away was due to the fact he didn't know how they would react if he went home. He was scared of their disappointment._

 _"But I doubt you'll have to worry about that" I told him, causing him to look at me with hopeful eyes. "If they didn't want to see you, than they wouldn't have called in for us to look for you. I'm sure they're waiting anxiously for you to come home."_

 _He seemed to perk up a little after that. I just hope that I'm right, for the sake of the kid. Its difficult not having parents in your life._

 _After about an hour after we picked Collin up, we finally arrived in front of his house. I saw him look nervously at it; the same way I looked at my parents house all those weeks ago. Different day, same story._

 _"Everything's going to be fine" I assured him as we got out of the car. He nodded his head slowly, but was still shaking with angst._

 _We walked across the street and down the patio slowly, matching the pace of Collin who took his time, until we reached the door. Judy knocked on it and we waited for a second until the door came open. There was an instant shout of relief as the mom of Collin wrapped him up in a hug. She had tears in her eyes, and looked as though she had been crying for awhile. Her squeal must of attracted the dad, as he walked around a corner from in the house and, upon seeing his son, rushed over and he also gave him a hug._

 _"Collin, we were so worried" Mom wolf cried out, squeezing Collin even harder. Honestly, it was a beautiful sight to behold. I didn't even have to look at her, but I knew that Judy was fighting back tears. I just looked at them with a smile; yet in the back of my mind, a dreary feeling set over me._

 _"Collin," his dad said as he pulled away, "Your mom and I thought and discussed for a long time over the past couple of days, and we've decided that we need to let you make your own choices. And if you want to date that sheep, then you can. Whatever makes you happy makes us happy, we just don't want to drive you away because of our prejudices" By this time, Collin was also crying. He thanked them over and over again, happy that they accepted him and his sheep girlfriend._

 _Again, my thoughts were drug back to my own issues with my parents. Why couldn't this have been how the conversation between us had ended. It would certainly put me more at peace, and help me stop thinking about this. Unfortunately, it didn't end this way. In fact, it ended in one of the worse possible ways._

 _"Thank you, officers" the mother said, one of them finally acknowledging us. I smiled and gave a small nod._

 _"It wasn't a problem, just doing our jobs, ma'am" I said, and Judy nodded in agreement._

 _"Even so, I'm glad that you were able to bring him back to us. Don't know what I would have done if anything happened to him" the dad said, giving a distant look. I just repeated what I said, saying we were just doing our job._

 _They told us thanks again, before they closed the door leaving Judy and myself standing there. That's when I sagged my body and drew out a long breath. That hit me in all the wrong places. I was happy for Collin, and hid family; but that doesn't mean it makes me feel good about my own life._

 _We turned around and started walking back towards the car. I could sense Judy's worry for me, and all I really wanted at the moment was to go home and just spend the rest of the day with her, alone. Unfortunately, we still had to go back to the station and fill out all the paperwork; then probably do something else, depending on what Bogo had for us. Lucky me._

 _"Officer Wilde, wait" I heard someone call as the door behind us opened again. I turned around and saw Collin running up to me. Before I knew it, he had brought me into a hug. I was taken back by this, not really knowing how to react._

 _"Thank you so much, both of you" He said with tears in his eyes. I looked at Judy who just shrugged. I raised an eyebrow and asked him what for._

 _"For bringing me home, for listening to me, and talking to me. It's really not easy talking about that stuff to others" He explained while scratching the back of his head. 'Tell me about it' I muttered to myself under my breath. Judy and I are all to familiar with the prejudice against us; we just usually choose to ignore it._

 _"We're just glad your back home safe. And if you need to talk about anything else concerning your little love life, you can always call us" Judy told him as she wrote down her number and passed it to the wolf. He examined it for a second, then looked up at us with a smile and told us he would. After that, we parted ways; him going back into his house, and us into the cruiser._

 _As we made our drive back to the station, my mind was plagued by this whole thing, and just how similar it was to the situation that I was facing. What are the odds? Of course there is one key difference in all of this; Collin was able to make up with his parents, as for me, well we already know how well that went._

 _Judy would occasionally cast a glance over my way, and I knew she was trying to find something to say that might make me feel better. Honestly, I don't think much could. Depression wasn't an emotion that I had ever projected, for a long period of time. Now, just in the span of a couple of weeks, I couldn't keep myself from it._

"How does that sound?" I heard Judy ask, breaking me away from my thoughts. I looked up at her; she was smiling and holding up two different colors of fabrics. I had no idea what was going on and am completely lost. Time to wing it.

"Yah, sounds wonderful" I told her. But she saw right through my BS. She gave me a glare that told me she wasn't to happy for me not paying attention. I gave a distant sigh.

"I'm sorry, Judes. I just haven't been thinking right for awhile" She frowned and took my paw lovingly into hers.

"You're thinking about Collin again, aren't you?" She asked, which caused me to nod my head. She always seemed to know what was on my mind.

"I can't seem to get him out of my head. Him, along with my parents, it's all just too much" I said as I clutched my head with my arms. So many repressed feelings started flooding into me. I wanted to cry, but I held myself back from doing so. I was already being emotional enough, I don't need to add to my mental breakdown.

"Nick, I know this may not be what you want to hear, but you need to just forget about them. I know you wanted to make up with them, and you did. It's their fault this time for driving you away. If they can't accept the fact that your happy with me, then they don't deserve you. You can't keep beating yourself up because of what they think about us"

She had a point. The only reason I was miserable was because of them. They're the ones to blame for all my pain. So what if they didn't accept Judy and I as a couple, it's not my problem. I'm happy with her, and she's the only one I need in order to be happy. I already made my amends with them, they are the ones who drove me off. I shouldn't be the one suffering because of this. Yet here I was, crying over something I can't control.

"You know, you really are a smart bunny" I said softly with a slight smile. She gave me a smirk while she leaned over and gave me a little kiss.

"I know" She whispered, satisfied that she got the response she wanted.

That's when my phone suddenly started to ring. I took it out of my pocket and looked down curiously at it. It was rare these days for anyone to call me on my phone, considering that most of my old friends were criminals and didn't really like the fact that I became a cop; so I've kind of lost contact with most of them. It was for the better, though.

I stared at the number for a second, not recognizing it. I shrugged my shoulders and decided that I better answer it anyways, just in case it was something important. I clicked on the answer icon and brought the phone up to my ear.

"Hello" I said cheerfully, as if there was nothing wrong going on in my life. Going right back to that mask I hid myself so well behind. What can I say, I only feel comfortable being myself around Judy. Can you really blame me, especially with the animals I used to work with.

"Nick?" A very young voice asked from the other end of the line. My face squinched up in confusion.

"Uh, yah... who is this?" I asked. Judy looked over at me quizzically; I just shrugged my shoulders. I had no idea who this was.

"This is... this is Rich. Your brother" the voice said. To say I was surprised, well that would be a major understatement. Out of all the animals in Zootopia, he was one of the last ones I would have ever expected to be calling me. Which raised another question.

"Rich? Wait, How'd you get this number?" Judy looked over at me surprised. She mouthed out of I meant my brother, Rich. I nodded my head.

"I have my ways" He said smugly. Wow! This kid was reminding me more of myself every time I talked to him. He's very resourceful too, especially for being such a young age. I don't just hand my number out to anyone, I like to keep it between a few animals. So how he got it is a mystery to me. But I guess that's not really the important part, at least not at the moment.

"Why are you calling. Are you ok?" I asked. It must be something serious if he's called me.

"Um, I'm ok. But mom and dad aren't" He said with a little sniffle. He's been crying recently.

"Why, what's wrong with them?" I questioned, worried that something bad happened to them. They may not like the choices I'm making with my life, but that doesn't mean I don't love and care about them. They still raised me for seventeen years.

"They've been yelling, a lot. It started when you left, after you yelled at them. Mom got angry at dad and they fought back and forth for awhile. Its been like that for the past couple of weeks. I'm scared and I didn't know who else to call" He cried.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down. Everything will be okay" I tried soothing him.

"I think they want to talk to you again, but they didn't know how to contact you. I think they want to apologize" Rich said. I froze, taking in what he said. They want to apologize to me? Could they have seen the errors of them being so judgmental. Could I actually get the same ending as Collin.

"Don't worry, I'll be over as soon as possible" I told him. I head him sniffle again before he spoke.

"Please hurry, I don't know how much more fighting I can take" after he said that, I heard a click and the call was over. I brought the phone away from my head and looked down at it. I can't believe that they actually want to talk, and apologize, to me. This was like a dream come true.

By that time I had a wide grin on my face, and I let out and excited laugh. I was just going to let this go, and just try and forget about them again. But now, I wouldn't have too. That is, of course, if Rich was telling the truth and heard right. He seemed pretty shaken about everything and might have just told me what he thought mom and dad wanted. I guess I'd find out when I got there. If it wasn't what Rich said it was, then it was going to be a little awkward, but I couldn't take the chance.

I looked at Judy and explained everything to her. She looked a little surprised, but more happy then anything. She liked it when others where happy, especially if it was me, and I could honestly say I was more happy than I've been for the past couple of weeks.

I told her that I'd be back, that I should do this on my own. She questioned if I was sure and I reassured her that I would be fine. I mean, what's the worst that could happen.

It would take a little longer to get to the house, since I was off duty and didn't have anything to drive over. Oh well, I could walk and think about what I needed to say before I got there. I would be lying if I said I wasn't still a little bit nervous. But my non-caring attitude had returned to me, and now I was just going to let happen whatever happens. I wouldn't care less. It would be great if they have changed their minds, but if they didn't then oh well. Not my problem, like I said earlier.

The walk there seemed to be shorter than I expected it to be, considering if felt like in no time I was walking towards the door of the house I had left in a rage only a few weeks ago. I walked straight up to the door, stuck out my arm, and knocked a couple of times. And that's when it finally set in.

I became wide eyed at realizing what I was doing. I couldn't just come back here after how I left. They were just going to turn me away. If they really did want to apologize to me, then they could of found out how to contact me somehow. I mean if Rich can do it, I'm pretty sure my parents can. So what the hell was I doing. I felt like I needed to run, get out of there as quick as possible. Unfortunately, it was to late.

The door opened, and out from behind it came my mother. She looked almost as shocked as I was that I was here. We just stood and stared at each other for awhile, words not coming from either of us.

"Nick, what are you doing back?" She asked, not harshly, just surprised.

"I got a call from Rich, he said that I needed to come down. Said you guys had something to talk to me about" I relayed what I was told.

She looked at me confused, "What do you mean?" She questioned.

"Rich said you and dad had been fighting a lot. Said it was getting really serious. So he called me and asked me to come down"

She let out a slow sigh and put her face into one of her paws. She mumbled something in annoyance to herself for a second. Now it was my turn to be confused. What was she annoyed about?

"Rich! Get down here, now!" Mom shouted suddenly, catching me a little of guard and causing me to jump. A muffled 'coming' was heard followed by the sound of paw-steps making their way here. It wasn't long before Rich appeared around the corner with a wide grin. I knew that grin all to well... something wasn't right.

"Did you tell Nick that your father and I had been fighting?" She asked. He nodded. "And why would you do that"

"Because I think it's stupid why he left again" Rich said folding his arms.

"Okay, what's going on here?" I asked. Usually, I was able to catch on to things pretty quickly. But as of lately I just haven't been thinking straight and all this is doing is giving me a headache.

"Your dad and I never fought, or yelled at each other. Rich made that up" She said in annoyance.

"Why?" I asked him.

"Like I said, I thought it was stupid why you left. That was the first time I saw you and I didn't want it to be my last" He explained.

"But I thought you hated me. You stormed off and broke something upstairs" I reminded him. He looked down shyly trying to avoid eye contact.

"That's not exactly what happened" He stated, causing me to lift a brow in interest. "I didn't go away because I was mad, more because I was so excited. I'd read about you and Judy in a bunch of things. You are my hero's. And then I found out that my hero is my brother. I lost control of myself and went upstairs to cool down. I was bouncing up and down and accidentally knocked my clock off of my nightstand" He explained to me. I smiled, thinking it was kind of cute. I knew Judy would find it just adorable.

"Even so, Rich, you can't just call Nick down for no reason. I'm sure he's a busy fox" Mom said, and she would be right.

"But aren't you guys going to make up?" He asked, causing mom to look away and sigh.

"Its not that simple" She told him.

"It is that simple" Rich snapped, catching both of us off guard. "Is it really more important to keep your pride because you don't like that he is marrying a bunny. He is your son and my brother, and he deserves our love no matter what" Wow, for a 9 year old, this fox had a way with words. I honestly couldn't have said it better myself. Knowing me, I would have just cussed them out and insulted them.

Mom looked at him for a good thirty seconds, before sending him up to his room. Rich wanted to argue, but mom didn't let him. He pouted a little and sulked his way up to his room.

"I'm sorry about this, I knew I shouldn't have come back. It was dumb of me to even think ab..." I was cut off by mom reaching out and putting a paw on my shoulder.

"Nick, I want you to know that right after you left, I regretted everything I said" She admitted to me. I kept quiet and let her continue. "Rich is right, you are my son and I should love you no matter what. Even if that does mean putting behind me certain beliefs for your benefit. I do love you, and I am more proud of you more than you could ever imagine. You've grown to be a nice outstanding fox. I hope you can forgive your father and I for being so stupid" She looked at me, with sincerity in her eyes as tears streamed down her face. How could I not forgive her. She is my mom and she's done more things for me then I can count. There's not many things in this world that will keep me mad at her.

"I forgive you" I said as I brought her into a nice tight hug. She tightened her grip and acted like she was never going to let go, in fear of losing me again.

"But I still need to hear dad's apology" I felt her tense up when I said that. Dad never was one to apologize to others. He rarely showed much of any emotion, I mean where do you think I got it from. When he cried, I thought the world was about to end. So, an apology from dad wasn't going to be an easy task. But I needed to hear it from him, not mom apologizing for him.

"He's at work right now, but your welcome to stay until he gets here" She said. I nodded my head and she let me in.

"By the way, Rich is one clever fox" I pointed out with a small chuckle. She nodded and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you have no idea. Sometimes it felt like you were still here" She giggled.

"I'll take that as a compliment" I heard Rich shout from upstairs. I couldn't help but laugh. He honestly was like a smaller version of me. Which means it must be a nightmare to keep him under control, if that is the case.

Mom led me into the dinning room and we sat at the table. First, I needed to say a few things about my last visit. I said a few things in my rage that may have been a bit exaggerated.

"Mom" I said, gaining her attention. "I just want to tell you that I know I said a couple of things last time that I really didn't mean. I know you two love me, I was just kind of angry" I told her. She slowly shook her head back and forth.

"You had every right and reason to say the things you did. Your father and I... we weren't the best of parents to you and we know that; we're trying to do better with Rich, and I think we are. We put you through so much, and I don't think any amount of apologizing can fix what we broke" She cried softly. As my dad may be the unemotional rock of the family, my mother is the exact opposite. She is a very emotional fox, which is where I get my softer side from.

"But" She stated, "I hope that we can rebuild some of what was destroyed. I've missed so much of your life; I don't want to miss anymore" I smiled kindly at her.

"I'd really like that. I never thought I'd be welcomed back in this house, honestly. I'm just hoping that the future will prove to be better for us" I said, gaining a nod from her.

"So let's start by talking about what you've done these past years, catch me up on the life of Nickolas Piberius Toddsly" She told me with interest.

"Its Wilde now, remember" I corrected her. She rolled her eyes and said whatever and pushed me to tell her.

So I did. I started with the obvious, being that I worked the streets for almost the whole time I was away, up to a few years ago when I became a cop. The in between parts of the story were the more touchy subjects. For instance, she really didn't like it when I told her I was once affiliated with the crime boss, Mr. Biggs, and technically I still am but I don't think she needs to know that. I told her about some other highly illegal things I did to get some extra cash, much to her disapproval. What was she going to do about it, its in the past and I'm done with that stuff. We eventually got up to the point where Carrots and I met. I won't ever forget the first time I saw that optimistic bunny, who inadvertently helped me scam my way to a few hundred dollars that day. She was a bit more than pissed off when she had realized what I did, so much that she did try to arrest me. Fortunately for me, years on the streets keeps me prepared. But I can't say I'm to proud of what I told her when she wouldn't stop following me. It was a bit harsh, I must admit. After that, it was solving the Nighthowler case, then the Academy, and than a couple years on the force.

"And that concludes the amazing story of me" I said with slight sarcasm as I half bowed. Mom gave a half hearted laugh, and Rich, who came down earlier during my story, gave out a chuckle. But mom looked to be thinking about something.

"Wow, your life sounds so cool" Rich said in awe. I gave out a low sigh.

"Trust me kid, life on the street isn't all its made out to be. You have to be extremely carful, 'cause one mistake can mean your death. Always looking behind your back for some criminal or cop. Knowing that if you make the wrong animal mad, then it's the end for you. Living in paranoia and fear isn't much of a life" I explained to him. I've met plenty of young animals who think that doing business in the less traditional way is going to make them a quick buck, which it will. But all to many times I've either seen them just disappear, end up drug addicts, or locked up in jail. I'm just one of the lucky ones that knew where to be at what times, who to avoid, and how to lay low in certain situations.

"Oh..." He said a little disappointed. I would honestly hate to see this little guy hustling his way on the streets and working as a criminal. I may be clever, but I can tell that Rich is smart. There is a different in the two.

"You can become something way better, anyways" I told him. "Don't settle your dreams on something stupid like I did. I mean you could be a scientist or something." He shook his head in disinterest.

"Nah, I actually want to be like you, but in a different way" He said with a large smile. "I want to be the first fox in the FBI." I saw Mom smile from the corner of my eye and I could tell this was a common subject.

"FBI huh, well you'd definitely be working much larger cases than I am" I told him. He just shrugged, "I want to be a profiler, like the ones on TV. They're awesome." That's definitely not that bad of a dream to want to achieve. I mean foxes are already inherently good at reading others. If it wasn't for prejudices against foxes, I'm sure there would already be plenty of foxes working there. But we're just seen as to untrustworthy. Its really sad, actually.

"I'm sure you'll be the greatest agent ever to walk through that place" I told him. He brightened up like a kid on Christmas, almost as if I told him he'd won the lottery.

"You really think so?" He asked.

"I know so" I assured him. I don't think someone could look any happier than he does at this moment.

"I guess you've had quite the eventful life" Mom finally spoke. Oh she has no idea. What I told her was just a fraction of my life; I just didn't want to give her a heart attack from hearing about some of the things I've done. "Still amazed that they actually let you be a cop" She chuckled. I shrugged, the only real thing they could get on me was my tax evasion and I was pardoned from that for helping stop Bellwether. So I had a clean slate.

"Yah, but I'm glad I was able to become one. In reality, I never would have expected myself to be on the good side of the law. I expected to either die a con, or retire with a ton of money" I told her. "But I guess I have Carrots to blame for ruining my life plans" I chuckled out. I'm glad she's not here or she would have definitely hit me for saying that.

"Carrots?" Mom questioned, confused.

"Right, sorry. That's just a little nickname I gave her the first day we met, and it's just stuck" I explained with a hearty laugh. I love my little pet names for her, and no matter how many times she tries to tell me to stop, I know she loves them too.

"Well, I am glad that you've found someone that makes you happy" I could tell she was forcing a smile; but hey, at least she's trying. I know she's not 100 percent on board with this, but as long as she tries to be happy for me then what more can I ask for.

The sound of the door opening and then shutting made me shoot my head in the direction closest to the door. Looks like my dearest father is home. Oh, this was going to be a lovely conversation to have with him. I could almost already hear all the yelling.

"Don't worry, it won't be as bad as you think" Mom whispered over to me. Why did I think that wasn't going to be the case?

"Honey, I'm home" He called out. He sounded tired and a little stressed out. Must have been a long day at work.

"I'm in the kitchen" She replied. The paw steps grew closer with each second as my heart rate started to increase as well.

"You would not believe the day I ha..." as soon as he entered the room, his eyes fell upon me. He stared at me for a few seconds, our eyes locking, before continuing to talk, like he wasn't even phased that I was here. He talked about his day for awhile as he took a seat at the table, all the while we all looked at him with wide, confused eyes. This definitely was not like him at all, and something was definitely up.

"Enough about me, how was your day, Nick" He asked with a gesture towards me. I was so shocked I couldn't even talk straight. I stumbled over all my words, not able to compose myself enough to speak properly. I became completely confused when he just started laughing. I think my dad has lost his mind.

"You should have seen the look on your face" He laughed out. Yah, my dad could be a bit of a jokester at times, but how did he know I was here and why the hell would he be joking with me. I looked at mom and Rich for answers but they looked just as confused as I was.

"What's going on here?" I finally asked him, because this just didn't make any sense.

He held a smile and began to explain, "You know I'm not a big fan of interspecies relationships" He started off. Wow, such a great way to start a sentence. "But, I also know that I can't control what you do." I looked at him, wanting this to be elaborated on. So he continued, and what he said caught me a little off guard. "I ran into your future mate, Judy. At first I tried to push her away and tried to get away from her, but I failed in that. She told me she was used to it with you" He chuckled. "When I realized she wasn't going away, I decided it to be best that I at least try and talk to my future daughter-in-law. So we started talking, and the more we talked the more I realized something... I realized that Judy is a wonderful animal and is just perfect for you."

I was shocked, that's the simplest way I could explain what I was feeling at the moment. Just minutes ago I expected him to come in here, see me, and completely loose his shit and scream and yell at me. Instead, I got quite the opposite. He comes in here telling me he accepts Judy and I.

"I-I don't know what to say" I stuttered out.

"Look, I know what I said before was a little... insensitive to say the least. But I've done a lot of thinking after what you told me, and when I bumped into Judy today it just opened up my eyes more. Do I completely agree with your choices? Not really. But I'll learn to deal with it. This is your life and you do whatever you want to be happy."

I was speachless. Was this really my dad, being so kind and accepting of all of this. Had he really changed his view on Judy and I, or was he about to say psych and take back everything he said? In reality, it was unlikely, but in my mind I thought it to be a real possibility. But something confused me.

"When did you see Judy?" I asked with confusion. She never told me that she had talked with my dad. I'm pretty sure she'd tell me something like that if it really happened.

"Only about half an hour ago, actually. I was walking home from work and she told me she was out for an evening stroll" He explained. Wow, what are the odds of them bumping into each other, especially on a day like today. It was just crazy.

"So did she go home?" I asked, wanting to know the whereabouts of Carrots.

"Nope, I'm right behind you" I heard a voice from behind me whisper to me. I nearly jumped out of my chair and ended up banging my knees on the bottom of the table. I seethed a little from the pain as I glance behind me to find Judy standing there with an amused smile.

"Hey there, dumb fox" She giggled in delight. I had been so focused on my dad that I didn't even notice Judy make her way in here and behind me.

"You sly bunny" I told her with a playful tap on the nose. I don't know how she manages to do it, but she always seems to make everything better for me in the end. Weather it be getting me to join the police academy and completely turning my life around, or getting me and my family back together, she just always seemed to pull through for me. And that was one of the many reasons I loved her, because she loved me enough to go out of her way to make sure I was happy.

"Nick" my dad said, gaining back my attention. "I know you and that bunny of yours are going to have a great future together. Many years of happiness are going to come to you, I can tell. I just hope that you would allow me to be apart of your life as you go through those years. I've already lost so many years with you, I will not allow my pride to deny me anymore of that time."

I didn't even have to give it a second thought. "Of course dad, that's all I wanted to do" I smiled happily at him.

I couldn't believe it; finally, my life was now completely complete. I have great friends, a great job, the love of my life, the love and approval from Judy's family, and now I'm happily reunited with my parents and a brother. Yep, everything has finally fallen into place, creating the perfect life for me. Of course, there was still one thing missing, but Judy and I could deal with that after we get married. As for now, I was just going to enjoy the company of everyone I love, being happy that I was finally able to get enough courage to finally speak with the two I've been so afraid of for years. But I was happy, happy about our little reunion.


End file.
